193 - Cherish Time - Live Like Children of Light#
193 - Cherish Time, Live Like Children of Light
(JP Text Group - Ren Wei Compilation)
Sharing Topic: Cherish Time, Live Like Children of Light
Ephesians 5:8-17
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light. 9 For the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. 10 And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You! Thank You for preparing time for us to share Your words together. Help us not to be foolish, but to be wise, for we are Your children, children of light; You are light, and we are in the light, and the fruit of the light is goodness, righteousness, and truth. We believe these are all in us, leading us to live a new style in the new year. We completely entrust the following time to the Holy Spirit, helping every brother and sister so that each person can gain something. In the name of Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen!
After New Year's Day, it is considered the new year. Generally, we consider the new year to begin after the Spring Festival. Why do we regard the Spring Festival as the start of the new year? There are two meanings here. The world sees New Year's Day as the beginning of the new year, but in Christ, our spiritual new year begins at the Spring Festival. The Passover recorded in the Bible has many similarities with our Spring Festival. At the end of the year, many companies are busy making summaries and making the final push, and people remember to cherish time. The Bible also tells us that we should be children of light and act like children of light because God Himself is light.
Brothers and sisters, think about what the past year has left you with the most? Some may say that most of the past year was filled with failures and is hard to look back on; others may say that the year went quite well... What has the past year left you with the most? In fact, every day we are in God's grace and supply. I want to tell everyone, do not take God's grace for granted. If you can see, can speak, if you have friends and family, you should learn to be grateful. Many people always complain that the past year was terrible, lamenting the loss of many things. Since it is already the new year, there is one thing to do: change the focus of your eyes, stop complaining about those things. People can inadvertently pull the past into the present; the reason for the Israelites' failure lies here.
The Israelites had come out of Egypt, but their hearts remained in Egypt. Just like today, many people enter the new year with us, but still reminisce about the past. In fact, whether past failures or successes do not need to be focused on; do not complain about those unhappy things. Since it is already the new year, we need to change the focus of our eyes and count God's grace. When we count the grace God has given us in the past year, we will have hope in the new year.
The Israelites always complained about unhappy things. God brought them out of Egypt and told them to regard this day as the new year. God did not want them to think according to past thoughts or past failures because the Israelites' past was all terrible; they had become slaves to others and did not even have their own country, living in pain for at least three or four generations.
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”
The new year has begun; do not think about past failures, do not bring up the past. We need to shift our focus; do not be like the Israelites, always saying, “We used to... we used to...,” that is already in the past. I hope everyone, at the beginning of the new year, focuses on Jesus Christ and maintains a heart of gratitude.
The Bible says, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Regardless of whether you have learned to rely on Jesus, this year, you can learn to live by relying on Jesus. Always try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
So verse 14 says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
When Christ's light shines on us, it proves that we have a new beginning, a new starting point, and new grace to be given, Amen! Constant gratitude is the secret to joy in our lives. Do not wait until time has passed, and everything is too late before you remember to be grateful. Some things have passed, so let them pass. I particularly like to tell brothers and sisters at the beginning of the year: no matter how the past was, it is over; do not mention it again, especially past failures. Between people, between spouses, and between friends, there may have been past hurts, but when the new year comes, I hope everyone lets the past be the past and does not let past failures affect your reception of God's joy today.
Psalm 34:1 David feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he wrote this psalm. I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
What was David's situation? David wrote this psalm when he was in a very desperate state, with others wanting to kill him, so he feigned madness before Abimelech to escape the pursuit of his enemies. Those people said, “David is finished; he will never be king; he poses no threat to us.” And they drove David away. David wrote this psalm when others called him a madman. David said, “I will bless the Lord at all times.” Why was David a servant after God's own heart? Because David understood to praise God in any environment. David wrote many psalms, and in his psalms, he would mention his sufferings and circumstances at the beginning, but he would always write about praising God at the end.
Praising God is the secret to joy and victory in our lives. David said, “His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” When he was in suffering and others called him a fool, why could he praise God? Because he believed that the past had become the past, and God's destiny for him was to make him the king of Israel; God's promises would not fail.
Brothers and sisters, do you know that God's destiny for you is to be a king in your life? God does not want you to live like a beggar in pain; God wants you to be filled with joy every day; He wants you to be in His peace and grace every day. Brothers and sisters, you should learn from David, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” David understood this secret; he knew that praise and complaints cannot coexist. If you continue to thank God for His goodness, meditate on God's works, and think about God's grace, you will have no time to complain about those unhappy things.
Brothers and sisters, think about when you are the most unhappy? When you are busy or when you are not busy? Generally speaking, in the quiet of the night, when there is nothing to do, you will think of past failures and the hurts from others. Usually, this is a choice of a complaining lifestyle. But if you often praise God, you will have no time to complain about unhappy things.
I am not saying that everyone must find something to do; I am saying to use your time to praise God. We are tested in these aspects every day, such as being ignored by office colleagues, dreams falling through, plans failing, or poor health. At this time, we can say, “I am so pitiful! Why do I have to encounter these things? Why did God let this happen to me?”
We all have reasons to do this; you can also say, “Heavenly Father, I thank You, believing that I am a victor in Your grace. I believe You will help me to be a victor.” You can also declare, “No weapon formed against me shall prosper.” In times of trouble, you can declare this; that is the truth, Amen! It is easy to say Hallelujah when winning the lottery; the question is whether you can praise God in the face of some unhappy things.
Where is the difference between the world and us? We both win; we can both give thanks; but the only difference is that in times of trouble, we are people of hope who can pray to God and declare that we are victors; we give thanks to God because we believe He will lead us through difficulties; we believe that the latter days will be better than the former. You can choose to complain or choose to praise. But I hope brothers and sisters choose to praise.
Moses said to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.”
Brothers and sisters, God is not a God who forces us; our God is full of peace, joy, and all kinds of goodness. The fruit of the Spirit is all with God, and He is especially willing to give these to us. But many people often reject God's grace. In other words, God is especially willing to give you peace and joy, but if we choose to complain and think about bad things with our mouths and hearts, joy cannot fill our hearts. Please remember: we are merely vessels; what fills us determines what we receive. What do you want to fill your heart with?
God is willing to give us grace to tell us: He is a God who is willing to give grace, but not everyone is willing to accept such grace. Yesterday someone asked me, “Why did the Israelites finally choose the law?” At first, God spoke very clearly, “I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
God's meaning is that you do not need to do anything; let Me bless you, and you will become My holy nation. I will make you My holy nation; I will fulfill the covenant I made with Abraham. But why did God still give the law in the end? When someone asked me this question, Exodus 19:8 shows a significant change in God's attitude.
Exodus 19:8 And all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.
In fact, the Israelites had pride within them; the original meaning is: do not always say You are a gracious God; let me do something! I must do something to feel justified after receiving grace. You can say anything; I can do it all. Brothers and sisters, is this not a form of pride? When a person is filled with these things, they cannot see God's grace.
I want to tell everyone that when our hearts are filled with bitterness and complaints, we cannot see God's peace and joy. But God hopes you live in peace and joy because we are children of light, and God wants us to live like children of light. Because of the Israelites' statement, God's attitude changed. Do you know what the person who asked me this said? “Believing in God is so tiring! I have to pay attention to God's attitude and facial expressions.”
Originally, it was a good explanation, but when people see this, because their hearts are filled with such questions, they complain about God itself, saying, “I have to watch God's facial expressions to do things.” In fact, it is not like that. God has always been a gracious God; He hopes the Israelites are filled with joy and wants to give grace to the Israelites. God's attitude has never changed.
The Bible also tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” He was a gracious God yesterday, and He still is today. But why do we often see differently? It is because our hearts have changed. If you think God is such a harsh God, you will not see anything good in Him; you say, “Yes, no matter how I answer you, you will treat me this way.” If we think of God in this way, you will not see even a bit of God's grace.
Later, this person asked me, “God Himself issued the Ten Commandments, ‘You shall not kill,’ but God Himself kills.” How do you see this issue? I have always said that God is a gracious God, but when God issued the law, He said, “You shall not kill.” You do not let us kill, but you can kill at will? This is how our hearts are; it is a different existence when we look at God.
Brothers and sisters, how do we understand God's extermination of the seven nations of Canaan? We have always said that God's grace and God's justice coexist. You receive God's grace because Jesus satisfied God's justice. In other words, the people of Canaan were exceedingly sinful, and as God, the Judge, should He not judge evil? If God sees evil and still says, “It does not matter,” then He is not a just God.
Logically, everyone deserves to die; why has God not let you die today? It is because Jesus died for you! So when you hear of God's grace, it is because God's justice has been satisfied by God. Therefore, God can freely give grace to you, allowing you to cherish God's grace and let go of past thoughts. We have nothing to boast about before God, just like the song we sang at the beginning, “I had nothing at all.” What is there to boast about?
Jesus has accomplished all this for you; God hopes you change your thoughts and let your conduct be like children of light. Last year, I saw a post online that said, “How a person's heart is, so is their world.” Two people who had never seen the sea arrived at the seaside at the same time. One person saw the boundless sea and said, “Wow, how wonderful!” instantly feeling his heart broadened; the other person, facing the sea, said, “Oh no! I wonder how many people will drown in this sea!”
The same thing led to two completely different results. What caused this? Their hearts were different. Brothers and sisters, I hope you live like children of light this year; you are already in the light. When your heart changes, your world will change.
There was a pastor who, while busy preparing a sermon, had his son constantly causing trouble beside him, making it impossible to concentrate on writing the sermon. So he casually picked up a book that had a world map in the back and tore the map into several pieces, asking his child to piece it together. He thought this would be a difficult task because his son was so small and did not know anything. His son took the pieces outside, and in less than five minutes, the child told him the puzzle was completed. The pastor was very surprised. The child explained, “Dad, I actually do not know the world map, but there was a person on the back, and when I pieced that person together, the map in front was correct.” His point was to tell us something: when a person changes, their whole world changes.
We are a group of people redeemed by the blood of Jesus; you are children of light, and your conduct can change. What I want to tell everyone is to be grateful in everything; even if there are troubles and unhappy things happening, learn from David and believe that the blessings God gives us are greater. David faced many ups and downs in his life and encountered many problems, yet he still believed that God's grace was upon him and that God's promises would never fail him. You should also believe that this year you are more blessed than last year, even if you say last year was a mess, but this year you are still a blessed person from God, so I hope you choose to live praising God.
Let’s look at a passage of scripture, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
The meaning of this passage is: in everything, you should thank God. No matter what problems we encounter this year, whether it is physical illness, career setbacks, or poor interpersonal relationships, you should have hope and learn to give thanks to God in such an environment, believing that God will surely lead you through difficulties because you are His child, and He is your loving Father. Turn complaints to God into praises to God! Believe that God is working in you, Hallelujah!
Do not learn from the Israelites. After the Ten Commandments were issued, the Israelites always complained and had developed a habit of complaining. Later, whenever they complained, God would deal with them and let them taste some bitterness. About forty years later, the Israelites learned one thing: to stop complaining. When they had no water to drink, they began to praise, “Water, come up from the well…” and the water came up from the well. Hallelujah! In the past, you may have complained and felt wronged and unfair, but this year I hope you start to praise God. Amen!
Job 42:10 Job prayed for his friends. And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
We have talked about Job's suffering not being given by God; it was because Job believed wrongly in the past that the devil began to attack him. In other words, the devil was jealous of him and did not want God to keep blessing him. A little suffering made Job think it was given by God, and he complained and even defended himself.
Brothers and sisters, the most feared thing in life is when we encounter people who say we are wronged. Job fell into this predicament; when his friends came to see him, he began to tell them he was innocent, always trying to prove to his friends that he was innocent, which only made the problem worse. His friends did not think so; they said, “You must have a problem.” Job always tried to prove his innocence with more examples, resulting in his situation becoming worse and worse. Brothers and sisters, if you encounter these troubling matters, there is no need to prove your innocence to anyone; just say to God, “Lord, I am willing to receive Your help and salvation.” Amen!
After God personally comforted Job, He said to Job, “You must pray for your friends.” Brothers and sisters, think about what kind of prayer Job made for his three friends? Yesterday someone asked me, “Teacher Ren, can I curse someone? Can I pray to curse someone?” Can you? Brothers and sisters? You can totally curse, but God will not fulfill it. Do you want to curse? If you are willing to waste your breath, you can. That person said, “You don’t know how that person treated me; I really want to curse him now.” I said, “Sure, go ahead; God won’t listen anyway.” In the end, he said, “I thought about it all night yesterday, and I seem to understand your point; God wants us to bless others.”
Brothers and sisters, did God not give Job an opportunity? He said, “Now pray for your three friends.” How did his three friends treat him? They mocked Job from different angles and depths, believing that Job had a problem. Now God gives you an opportunity to pray for those who have hurt you in the past or made you feel wronged or suffered losses; how will you pray?
This is a very realistic matter. Today, I do not hope everyone just listens; I hope you can apply it in your lives. Perhaps in the past, you said, “I really want to curse this person,” but at the beginning of the new year, I hope you learn to bless others. The reason is simple: God does not want our hearts to be filled with bitterness.
When you want to curse others, the curse first exists in your heart; when you want to scold someone, whose heart do the insulting words first exist in? When you want to scold someone, do you first receive a curse or a blessing? A curse, then why do you first receive a curse? In the past, many people did not tell us this; you say, “I want to hate this person,” go ahead and hate him, but when you want to hate him, your heart is first filled with hate.
How did Job turn back from his suffering? The Lord restored Job from his suffering (the original meaning is captivity), actually, Job had always defended himself. When God told Job, “You do not understand Me; you do not know Me; I am not that kind of God,” Job said, “I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.”
When Job understood God's intention, that God wanted to bless him, he began to bless his friends. No matter how you treated me in the past, I am willing to bless you. I hope everyone this year will bless all the people around you, letting your heart be filled with God's blessings. What benefit does this have for you? God wants to turn you back from suffering. Hallelujah!
You must remember that our hearts cannot be filled with both bitter water and blessings at the same time. I hope everyone keeps praise in your hearts. When Job learned to bless those around him, the Bible tells us, “The Lord restored Job's fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.” I hope brothers and sisters believe that no matter how much you have lost in the past, remember that this year God will bless everything for us, and God will double everything for us. I hope everyone starts this year with a habit of giving thanks in prayer and not cursing in prayer.
A poet once wrote a poem like this:
I am grateful every year to pay taxes; that means I have a job;
I am grateful that after every party, there is a lot of garbage; that means I have many friends;
I am grateful that I have to repair the salt ditch and fix the windows; that means I have a home;
I am grateful that at night my muscles ache and my body is tired; that means I still have the strength to work;
I am grateful that the sister sitting behind me sings off-key; that means my hearing is normal;
I am grateful that I am woken up by the alarm clock in the morning; some people’s ears never hear a sound...
Brothers and sisters, the key lies in how we view ourselves. If you believe you are children of light, then you can live out the style of children of light. The fruit of light is all goodness, righteousness, and truth. This is what the Lord delights in and is beneficial for you.
Verse 16 says, “Make the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
This year, will the time be spent enduring and suffering, or will it be spent enjoying life? Many people often live in bitterness, pressure, and busyness, causing them to miss out on life. Some people live their whole lives in the eyes of others; in other words, they strive to become someone else. But God created you to be unique; once God has created you, the mold used to create you is discarded, and no one else can be made like you.
When we create things, we leave the molds and assembly lines behind, producing identical items. God created you to be unique in the world; you do not need to live for others; you should live for yourself and for the Lord Jesus Christ, who has prepared abundant grace for us.
Many people live in the eyes of others, particularly concerned about how others see them and what others say about them. In fact, what is more important is how the Lord Jesus Christ sees us and how the Heavenly Father sees us; this is crucial. If you always live for others, you will miss the beautiful life that God has given you. If you take family, friends, and health blessings for granted every day, you may waste a year. But we live in God's beautiful will.
Today is also a day of special grace from God; today is also a day of God's grace towards you. Perhaps after twenty years, when we look back, do you still remember what your children looked like when they were small? Do you still remember what your parents looked like when they were alive? When we think back, there are many things worth remembering; those are all beautiful times.
From now on, we need to cherish every day and appreciate the life that God has designed for you. Some people are too busy, busy making money, neglecting the scenery around them, becoming a tool for making money, and overlooking everything God has given them in their families. We should not rush forward and forget why we are moving forward; we should enjoy every day's blessings from God because we are children of light and should cherish time. It is not that I tell you, “Ah, time is short, live well,” but rather to believe every day that there are blessings and grace from God, to see what joyful things are around me, and to remember them, letting them exist in your memory. I believe that after twenty or thirty years, we will be very grateful for everything we have done for the Lord in this life.
A few days ago, I was with Brother Zhao, envisioning the future. We preach the gospel and see many lives transformed after hearing the word, families turned around. If we persist for ten years, looking back, we will have many beautiful memories left in life, and life will not be wasted. This is what Paul meant when he said, “Philippians, you are my joy, you are my glory, you are my crown.” Brothers and sisters, treat every day as a day of blessing from God, cherish the present life, and when reflecting on your life, it will be filled with God's grace, and you will often give thanks to God.
Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
The meaning of the psalmist here is: God, please help us understand that every day is a day filled with Your grace, help me not to look at those wrong, stressful, busy things that take away our rest (to get a heart of wisdom), and do not focus on these things, but rather focus on Jesus Christ. When you focus on God, you can calm down and appreciate the beautiful day that God has given today.
In a big city, when stuck in traffic, one might say, “Why is there traffic again?” When stuck in traffic, pay attention to the scenery around you; you may discover grace you have never noticed before. I hope brothers and sisters, in the new year, let God give you a wise heart; do not rush too much, do not live for others, but live every day to see God's grace.
I want to ask everyone a question: if your life only had one day left, what would you most want to do? If the doctor told you that your life would end by evening, what would you want to do? Many people have never thought about this; the reason is that many people waste their time in life because they feel invincible, not realizing that life is limited.
If your life only had one day left, what would you do? What would you say? Would you still argue with others over trivial matters? Would you spend the remaining day commenting on whether others are heretics? Are these still important to you? I believe you all have the answer. If everyone viewed today with this mindset, you would absolutely not waste time on commenting on others, attacking others, or slandering others; we do not have the opportunity to waste time.
There is an ancient saying, “Before a person dies, their words are good.” Before a person dies, they will summarize their life to encourage future generations. They encourage others not to be like them. If you live every day as if it were your last, you would not speak ill of others. A pastor I learned from told me, “Treat every time you stand on the pulpit to preach as if it were the last time in your life.” At first, I did not understand what this meant. What does it mean to treat it as the last? If I treat today’s sermon as my last sermon in life, I will prepare wholeheartedly and cherish it. I will not just do a series of teachings thinking there is still plenty of time. Although I am preaching a series, I treat today as my last sermon because I do not know when Jesus will come or when everything will end. If I think this way, no one’s life will be wasted.
James 4:14 For you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
I want to tell everyone, do not wait until Thanksgiving to say thank you; do not wait until Christmas to give gifts; do not wait until the Spring Festival to bless others. On Thanksgiving, everyone will say, “Thank God”; at Christmas, no matter who we face, we will smile and give a gift, saying, “Jesus loves you; Jesus is the best gift”; during the Spring Festival, even non-believers greet each other with “Happy New Year!” These are all words of blessing, but after that month, everything returns to the way it was before.
I hope everyone remembers this day; although it seems ordinary, it is actually extraordinary because God's grace is filled within it. Once this day has passed, it can never come back. If you think today is an ordinary day, you will waste it, waiting for a miracle to appear. Many people are waiting for miracles to happen; many say, “I will pray to God today, but He may not listen; I will pray again tomorrow!” When we wait, precious moments are missed. Do not wait until you feel good to praise the Lord; in fact, you can do it now; do not wait until you are prosperous to offer to the Lord; in fact, you can do it now. When you give thanks, everything will change.
There are no ordinary days in this world; this is a mistaken human concept. Believe that every day is a day of grace from God; every day is a unique and irreplaceable day. These moments can be consumed, wasted by sleeping all day, or used to discover God's grace.
I hope brothers and sisters invest their time well today and do not waste it. May everyone receive a wise heart to count their days. Slow down your pace and appreciate the grace God has given you. Embrace your children every day. There is a person who often complains, “My child does not understand; he wets his pants every day; when will he understand?” One day he went to church, and the pastor told him, “Think about it; how many more years can you hold your child like this? Can it exceed five years? When the child is ten or twenty years old, when you want to hold him, you will not be able to anymore.”
After hearing the pastor's words, this brother suddenly realized that God loved him like this, giving him so much inheritance. His eyes were opened, and when he returned home, he saw that his child and wife were so good, and he actively embraced his child, changing diapers every night.
When our hearts change, our perspective on the world will change. If we know that the days God gives us are for us to appreciate His grace every day, our family, children, and work are all blessings given to us by God. Perhaps your husband does not deserve your love right now, or your wife does not understand your love; try to embrace her, and God will let us see that when we change, our whole world will change.
I hope in the new year, we spend more time meditating on God's grace, paying attention to our surroundings, observing God's grace, and seeing the beautiful miracles God has created. When we look at the animal world, we will discover that God has created so many wonderful animals that we did not even know about; when we appreciate the scenery everywhere, we will find that our China is so beautiful. Every day is filled with God's grace; the key is that our hearts and eyes need to be opened by God so that we can learn to give thanks to God in everything and believe that every day God gives different grace to supply us, and we should receive such grace and supply others.
Colossians 4:5-6:
5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
You must believe that every day is a day of grace from God; every year is a year of grace from God. When Jesus Christ hung on the cross, the year of Jubilee officially began, and every year after Jesus Christ is a year of Jubilee. We do not have to wait fifty years like the Israelites for a year of Jubilee, a year of forgiveness, a year of new beginnings. No, the year Jesus died and rose again renewed everything.
You must believe that this year is also our year of Jubilee; this year is a year of grace. Cherish every day of grace that God has given us. We believe this is a new starting point; we do not have to live like the past; we can give thanks to God and pray, “Lord, give me a wise heart, let me learn to know You every day, and spend my days in Your grace.”
We believe this is a year of grace, a different year, a year of new beginnings. We are willing to live every day in God's grace. A new year, a new everything! This year is a year of grace; we are God's people, we are blessed, all that has passed is gone, the new has begun; this year is a year of shaking, God's kingdom is shaken, and new visions have been opened. We have already stood in the beautiful land of Canaan; Jesus Christ has prepared everything for us; we believe God has given us the best. The past cannot affect our present; the living water from heaven will re-water us, new breakthroughs will bring us new transformations, new grace has descended, and new abundant grace has been renewed. Let us together receive abundant blessings! Hallelujah!
Let us raise our hands and pray. When we raise our hands, God will hold our hands and help us continue to move forward. We have already entered the beautiful land of Canaan, where houses have been built, and vineyards have taken shape. God's blessings have descended; God's grace has descended. 2017 is the year of God's grace and revival; we believe everything will be different.
Let us pray together:
Lord Jesus, we believe the new year is a new starting point. No matter how the past was, we believe we are now in Your year of grace, in Your dreams. We believe You have prepared abundant grace for us, and we are willing to receive abundant grace every day in this new year.
Open our eyes, let us see Your blessings around us and upon us every day, and let us become channels of grace and blessings. Let our thoughts and hearts be filled with God's grace, and let us often give thanks to You in everything.
We believe this is a year of grace; God has renewed everything and given us faith to cherish every day because we are children of light, living in the light. Darkness cannot invade us; the devil has no power over us; we are blessed by God. Wherever we go, God's grace is upon us, and God's power is upon us; we can bring transformation to others. Help us learn to thank You every day, thank the Heavenly Father for loving us. All glory be to our Heavenly Father. In the name of Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen!